I arrived in Mattawa after a 4 hour Greyhound bus from Ottawa on Dec 18, 2018, and here my winter off-the-grid journey began.

2018年12月18日，我來到了加拿大一個鮮為人知的小鎮-Mattawa，開始了我”沒有電網 (off-the-grid)的生活。

First Day     第一天

Mattawa is one of the most beautiful and undiscovered places in Northern Ontario. Jen (my amazing host mom) picked me up at the Greyhound station and drove me to their nice and cozy cabin.

Mattawa 在安大略的北邊，尚未開發卻異常美麗。Jen 把我從車站接到他們住的小木屋。

I met three cute and energetic kids Ella (11), Maya (9), Ethan (6) and a friendly husky dog named Sasha here. On the first day of my arrival, Ella and Maya were excited to show me around their trails and accommodations.

在這裡，我遇見了充滿活力的小朋友Ella, Maya, 和Ethan還有一隻哈士奇Sasha。我到的第一天，Ella和Maya就急著帶我去看他們其它租給客人的渡假小屋。

Living in San Diego where summer is the only season, I haven’t seen snow in a long, long, long time. It felt good to leave the first footprint in the snow. I seemed to suddenly be in a snow kingdom where there was something magical about it.

住在聖地牙哥，一年四季只有夏天，難以形容再次見到雪的感動。踏在雪中的剎那，彷彿穿梭到了童話故事中，冰的王國，雪的世界。

I learnt about “snow angels” by reading a novel, but never thought I would actually see one being made in fresh snow.

在小說中曾讀過”雪天使”，沒想到在這裡可以親眼見證。

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Accommodations and Off-Grid Living    渡假小屋

The accommodations really amazed me. They are located in the natural wildness, and it’s a perfect place for people to get away from city life.

浪漫又溫馨的渡假小屋，帶著心靈遠離城市的喧囂擾嚷。

There is no network or wifi, however, the places are cozy, quiet, and spacious, and it brings the guests, family, and friends closer by spending more quality time with each other instead of on the phones. The accommodations here are almost fully booked during the holiday season.

聖誕假期間，這裡幾乎全被訂滿。這裡沒有網路，家人和朋友們也因此有機會好好談心聊天，而不是埋首於手機和平板電腦中。

In winter, there is no running water. Jugs of water are being provided from their natural spring for drinking and washing.

這裡沒有自來水，水的來源是天然的山泉。

To save water, the composting toilets are being used here. Here people use peat moss to cover the waste and odors in the toilet.

渡假小屋的廁所是使用無水的堆肥式廁所。排泄物用泥炭蘚(peat moss)附蓋，美觀又不會有異味。

The big cabin is self-sufficient with two solar panels to provide basic electricity and a fireplace for heat during the winter. The host dad Tzach was preparing the best wood for guests to burn in the fireplace.

較大的木屋使用太陽能提供基本的電力。各個小屋內都有火爐可取暖。Tzah 準備劈柴以供客人使用。

It’s really amazing to see how people work so hard live environmentally friendly, but living off-the-grid is more than that.

住在這裡，要更加意識到每天的用水用電量。

Living in a luxurious modern city life for more than 2 decades, here are some things that I have to adjust to this new lifestyle:

• No electronic appliances including clothes dryer, microwave, hair dryer, rice cooker, coffee machine, etc. I can’t imagine my mom or my friends in Taiwan getting rid of their rice cookers. Rice is our main dish. XD
• No shower every day. There is no running water, and they use a generator to pump water from the natural spring. Less solar energy equals less electricity to activate the generator.
• Not flushing the toilet every time after using it. In the house, they have a conventional toilet. They flush it only if the odor is intolerable.
• Recycling is important. They divide stuff into cardboard/paper, cans, plastics, compost, glass, and trash. It helps to conserve resources and reduce the amount of trash in our landfills.

習慣城市生活的我，在這裡有一些我需要改變的生活習慣:

• 不用電器產品。包括吹風機、微波爐、電鍋、咖啡機、烘衣機等等。
• 不每天洗澡。沒有太陽能，就沒有電把水從天然水井抽上來。
• 不每次都沖馬筒。在他們家裡，有傳統的廁所 (不是堆肥式) ，但只有發出異味時才沖馬筒。
• 有重視資源回收。分類紙類、罐頭、塑膠、廚餘、玻璃、一般垃圾。(在美國分類沒有分這麼細!)

And here are some good new habits I developed while I live here:

• Washing dishes. Always soak plates in soap and water first, then rinse them in a small stream of water.
• Turn the unused lights off.
• Save the leftovers, never waste food.

Of course, there is a lot more than what I wrote for being off-gridders. Please visit my host family’s website to learn more: Nature’s Harmony Ecology.

在這裡建立了一些好的新習慣:

• 洗碗。先把碗泡在肥皂水中，之後再用小的水流沖洗。
• 隨手關燈
• 把剩菜留起來

住在沒有電網地方的生活，還有很多小細節要注意。若有興趣，可以參考這裡的網頁:Nature’s Harmony Ecology.

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Christmas       聖誕節

I was lucky to be here during Christmas time to experience traditional Canadian Christmas.

我很幸運能在這裡體驗加拿大傳統的聖誕節。

Before Christmas, the kids were super excited to put up ornaments they collected throughout the past few years on Christmas trees.

小朋友很興奮的將小裝飾品掛在聖誕樹上。

On Christmas Eve, we went to their grandpa’s house for some get together appetizers. The house was very Christmassy.

在聖誕夜，我們去他們的爺爺家吃前菜。

Their grandpa always dresses up like Santa and go to nursing home to read the story “the night before Christmas” and sing Christmas songs to the residents on Christmas Eve.

爺爺通常在聖誕夜，裝扮成聖誕老人，去護理之家讀”the night before Christmas”的故事和唱聖誕節相關的歌給那些住民聽。

This time, I dressed up as an elf with girls and brought surprises and joy to the nursing home.

這次，我和小朋友們一起扮成小精靈，帶給護理之家的住民們驚喜和歡樂。

It was so great to see how surprised the residents were to see Santa and elfs visiting. After greeting them, we headed back home where the delicious dinner their grandma made was waiting for us.

很感動能看到他們因為我們的到來而驚喜。拜訪完護理之家，回家後奶奶做的超好吃的晚餐在等著我們。(今天都在吃，又是前菜，又是晚餐XD)

At night, Maya wrote a letter to Santa. She prepared milk and cookies for him and carrots for the Reindeer so that they can find the house easily. It’s a tradition for kids who are true believers in Santa.

晚上，Maya寫了一封信給聖誕老公公。她準備了牛奶和餅乾給聖誕老公公，胡蘿蔔給麋鹿，以方便他們找到這個家。

The next day, one of the biggest days for kids, Christmas was finally here. We started our day with a nice breakfast.

隔天，是小朋友最高興的一天，聖誕節。我們用豐盛的早餐開啟這一天。

and delicious cinnamon cake. (It’s their tradition too!)

還有美味可口的肉桂蛋糕。(他們的傳統之一)

I can’t believe how many gifts they received in one Christmas: Books, Legos, pencils, stuffed animals, sweaters, pants, socks, wallets, toys, drones, pool set, sand, clocks, cookies, puzzle sets, balloons, hair color crayons, carry-on suitcases, stickers, etc. I was sooo shocked.

他們的聖誕禮物”超級”豐富: 書、樂高、鉛筆、玩偶、毛衣、褲子、襪子、錢包、玩具、無人駕駛飛機、撞球台、沙子、時鐘、餅乾、拼圖、氣球、染頭髮蠟筆、登機箱、貼紙等等。

Ended my Christmas with yummy western food.

這個聖誕節在美味的西式晚餐中渡過。

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Always Fun Things To Do        

Even though I didn’t have access to any transportation and stayed the majority of my time here, I never felt bored because the culture, weather, people, and things here were so different and it was all new to me.

雖然沒有交通工具，大部分的時間都待在這裡，但我從不覺得無聊。因為這裡的文化、天氣、人、事物對我來說都新奇無比。

Making Maple Syrup Toffee                製作楓糖太妃糖

Ella collected snow and put boiled pure maple syrups on top of it. And that’s it. Easy to make and very tasty.

楓糖太妃糖製作非常簡單，把滾燙的楓糖加在雪上，放涼後就完成了。

Making Ice Sculpture              製作冰雕

Maya and I collected snow and tried to create them into the desired shapes. Then we put them outside overnight. The extremely cold weather at night turned snow into ice.

Maya和我晚上去外面收集雪，把它塑型成想要的模樣，放在外面零下的天氣，隔天就變成冰了。

Art Creations             藝術創作

Food Related Activities            吃吃喝喝

Colorful Cupcakes

Sliding and Tubing             滑雪板和滑輪胎

It was my first time doing tubing. It was even more fun with lots of tubes tied together and slid down at the same time.

這是我第一次滑雪板和滑輪胎。很多人把很多輪胎綁在一起滑下去更刺激。

Campfire       雪中營火

The guests were having fun roasting hotdogs and marshmallows. The hot chocolate and the warm hotdogs were perfect for this cold weather.

客人很享受在雪中烤熱狗和棉花糖。

Snow Trails        雪中步道

There are a lot of different trail routes. If the weather was nice, I liked to go for a hike. First time I had worn snowshoes to walk on the snow.

這裡有很多不同的步道。如果天氣好，我喜歡出去走走。第一次穿雪鞋在雪中走路。

Selling Hot Chocolate and Tea to the Guests        賣熱可可

It was great teamwork for us. Ella designed the menu and drew the pictures, I wrote the menu, and Maya and I went to the cabins to sell them to the guests. We made 10 dollars and 65 cents on our first trial.

團隊合作。Ella設計Menu，我把它寫出來，然後和Maya去小屋裡賣熱可可。我是第一次就賺了10.65加幣。

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Always Good Food

Jen is an amazing cook. One of the policies in this house is to never waste food. Jen can not only make fresh delicious food but also transform the leftovers into different tasty dishes. During my stay, Jen’s friends Carrisa and Kevin came for a visit for a few days. We enjoyed our time for New Year and good food.

Jen 是一位好媽媽兼廚師。在這個家的其中一個原則是絕不浪費食物。Jen不但會做新鮮好吃的菜，還可以把剩菜變成美味的新佳餚。

Must try Canadian food       道地加拿大美食

Jen and Tzach were just so nice, they treated me out to a restaurant in downtown Mattawa since they knew I’ve never had the most famous Canadian dish- Poutine.

Jen和Tzah對我非常好，他們知道我沒吃過poutine，就帶我去Mattawa市中心唯一的一家餐廳吃。

Poutine: French fries topped with cheese and gravy

We also ordered chicken wings at the restaurant

Butter Tart: Jen knew this was also on my bucket list of food to try. She ordered one specifically for me in the restaurant. So touching!! This Canadian dessert consists of butter, sugar, syrup, caramel sauce, nuts, and egg, baked in a pastry shell.

Jen 知道我也想試butter tart，她在那家餐廳特別幫我點了一個。好感動!!

Caesar: A Caeser is a cocktail created and primary consumed in Canada. It contains volka, hot sauce, etc in it. I’m not a big fan of it but Canadian people love it.

Caesar是加拿大重口味的雞尾酒。我不是很喜歡，但是加拿大人超愛。

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The Last Day       最後一天

This was my cozy loft place to sleep and relax during these 3 weeks.

這個溫馨小閣樓是我這三星期睡覺的地方。

They treated me like part of their family. I had a chance to do things I’ve never done before. Jen and Tzach both work very hard to make sure they provide high-quality services for their guests. They also make sure their kids get attention and support if needed. Things get chaotic sometimes like every other family but they never give up. They always view things optimistically and solve the problem with wisdom. I had such a fantastic time here to help out and be part of their family. I’ll never regret making the decision to stay at this beautiful place and live an off-the-grid life.

很感謝他們把我視為家人一樣的看待，我嘗試了許多不曾嘗試的事情。在這裡幫忙他們的渡假小屋讓我學習了很多。他們很努力的讓客人享受高品質的居住環境和休閒，也很努力的控制用水用電量，為這個地球的資源盡一份努力。我會懷念住在這裡的沒有電網的生活。